


The Garden of Gems

by penstrikesmidnight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fairy Tale Elements, Love Confessions, M/M, UshiOi Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27039529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penstrikesmidnight/pseuds/penstrikesmidnight
Summary: Ushijima Wakatoshi comes from a long line of important people on both his mother's and his father's sides. He is sent to Seijoh to secure himself a position of power. Oikawa Tooru is a nobody from the streets who holds more power than anyone else in court. Ushijima should not find Oikawa as alluring as he does, yet he can't help but feel a little conflicted as his time to leave Seijoh approaches.
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 72





	The Garden of Gems

**Author's Note:**

> For Day 1/Day 4 of UshiOi Week! The prompts I used are **Magic/Fantasy AU** from day 1 and **Royalty AU** (kinda) and **Confession/Realization of Feelings** from day 4.

Ushijima Wakatoshi comes from a long line of important people on both his mother's and his father's sides. His father's line is the closest to royalty, marrying in and falling out of various kingdom lineages as far back as the books record. His mother comes from new money--as the king's empire expands, the most clawing and cloying have infiltrated the old guard, which Ushijima thinks is a positive change, for the most part. It is good to continue to grow, but there is also something to say about old, long-standing, successful traditions as well. 

His mother may not have had the best intentions for him when making the decision to send him to Seijoh, but he has become used to the ways she has tried to thwart his father, and he has used his time here to his fullest. He would say that he is sad to leave, if it were not for the fact that he has a plan in place to keep what he wants the most with him.

Oikawa Tooru is nobody. He only remembers brief flashes of his mother lying ill on a cot, but not a name or the way her voice sounded. No father has ever come to claim him. The streets have been his home, an intricate network of tunnels and sewers and espionage Tooru had to learn to navigate or die. He had chosen his last name only a handful of years ago, and he doesn’t speak about the time before it to anyone. 

Oikawa Tooru may be a nobody, but everyone talks about him, in scandalous whispers and begrudging admiration, whether they know it or not. He rules the people of Seijoh more than the appointed Shiratorizawa governor, and everybody in court knows it.

Ushijima's first run-in with Oikawa, three days after his arrival in Seijoh, had been unconventional at best. He had just finished breakfast and returned to his living quarters to change for court when he saw someone sitting in the decorative chair next to the window. Ushijima would have assumed it was a servant, except this man (boy, really, there could not be much of an age gap between them), had a long, lean leg thrown across the armrest and he was dressed as impeccably as Ushijima himself, although in much more progressive clothing. He was also holding one of Ushijima's amethyst-encrusted daggers, spinning the tip carefully on his finger.

"I heard there was a new nobleman in our midst, so I thought I would come get a look," the then-stranger said, his voice a pretty, sharp baritone, an echo of the dagger in his hands. "Although, I must say, you're fairly disappointing."

The first thing Ushijima thought about the man was that his hair was very clean, the brown beautiful against his skin and striking when paired with his piercing eyes.

"How did you get in here?" Ushijima asked, genuinely curious. He had watched his valet lock and unlock the room as he left and returned, and they were situated in a rather high tower.

Instead of answering, the man shrugged, then reached out and languidly plopped the dagger back onto the glass table it had rested on previously. "I haven't found a place I can't get into yet. A silly tower connected to a fake castle in the Royal District is hardly an issue.”

Ushijima had had the thought that he should be offended by the comment, but it was not his castle, and truthfully he thought it was a little much as well.

“Well then, is there anything you would like to discuss with me?” Ushijima finally asked, not sure why, exactly, this interaction was happening. 

The man stood. He was scrappy and sinewy, all muscle and bones. The more Ushijima studied him, the more he realized how much he did not look like the people Ushijima normally associated himself with. “Nothing particular at the moment, but I’m sure we’ll get to know each other well in the weeks to come, Ushiwaka-chan.”

Ushijima did not know how this man knew his name. He thought he should be more concerned than curious, but as the stranger picked up one of his family rings from the nightstand and slipped it onto his middle finger, he could not help but feel an intense burning of interest.

"See you around," the stranger said, jumping onto the window ledge. He waved to Ushijima with the hand that had his stolen ring, then disappeared out the window. When Ushijima finally unplanted his feet to look out, the mysterious thief had disappeared.

Ushijima had, in fact, seen him around. He had learned the name Oikawa Tooru through muttered curses before he heard the man say it himself. At first, he could not quite believe that someone so young and...nameless, could illicit the subtle changes happening in court, but that opinion changed very quickly.

Ushijima had been sent to Seijoh specifically because of the unrest stirring in the conquered territory. There would be a government seat open soon, if the rumbles of gossip held any grain of truth, and Ushijima's mother had strategically situated him so that he could still hold a title while keeping him as far from her and the goings on of the Ushijima manor as possible. Ushijima felt a little sad at the fact that his father's legacy was slowly crumbling, but his younger brother was promising, and his mother seemed much more involved in his upbringing than she ever was in Ushijima's. Because he could do nothing about that situation, he turned his attention to what he could accomplish in Seijoh.

He must admit, it was...frustrating, working with Oikawa Tooru. It wasn't so much working with him as it was getting cornered into one of his wildly inappropriate demands that, begrudgingly, Ushijima would admit were in the best interest for the country as a whole. Ushijima, more than anyone else, tolerated Oikawa, which had elevated his status quickly, to wildly mixed opinions. But, Ushijima thought, why not work with someone who so clearly loved his country and the people who lived in it? Oikawa Tooru was king of the underground, the advocate for the lowest of Seijoh's subjects, and Ushijima could not help falling for him.

Now, after spending an entire summer subject to Oikawa's whims, Ushijima has to leave.

He looks around his room, bare now that his trunks were packed away. He pointedly avoids looking at the bed, where he and Oikawa had spent the evening together just two nights previous, before Oikawa disappeared like smoke. Ushijima wishes he had asked Oikawa where he could find him, if only to tell him farewell. He regrets not telling Oikawa how much he had grown to care for and admire him.

"Sire," his valet says, "breakfast is waiting for you."

Ushijima thanks him, following him down the stairs to the dining room. He makes stilted conversation with his mother's distant relations, who he has not learned much more about than he knew before he came. He thanks them, promising that he would return. To be honest, this home has slowly grown to feel more like home than his did after his father left. He feels like he is leaving a part of himself behind, a part that has come to love this charming, resilient city. He wonders if he would feel this way if Oikawa had not been there to show him what the city had to offer.

When Ushijima gets back to his room, it takes him a few moments to realize that there is someone else there. A familiar someone, seated the same way he had been the first time Ushijima laid eyes on him. Instead of a dagger, Oikawa was spinning Ushijima's stolen family ring across his knuckles, like a magician did coins before they made them disappear or multiply.

"Hello, Oikawa," Ushijima finally says, when it is clear Oikawa is not going to say anything first. "I thought I would have to leave without saying goodbye."

"I must admit, I thought about just letting you go," Oikawa answers. His voice is breezy, his face pleasant, but Ushijima can tell that he has a mask on. Oikawa has so many masks he wears; it had taken Ushijima the whole summer to separate them from Oikawa's genuine personality. "Then I realized all the hard work I'd done over the summer would go to waste, and we couldn't have that."

It stings, just a little, to hear that everything Ushijima thought Oikawa and he had built together had just been a means to an end, but he is not surprised. He wonders what that night meant to Oikawa. It has to have meant more than Ushijima realized, if Oikawa had slipped out in the middle of the night and considered giving up his plan.

"I want to show you something," Oikawa says, bringing Ushijima back to the present.

"I am leaving shortly," Ushijima says, still a little sore from Oikawa's harsh comment. He does not know why he is trying to push him away when all he wants is to make sure they are not separated for good.

Oikawa rolls his eyes. He stands, dropping the ring onto the bedside table, before sauntering over to Ushijima and putting his arms around his neck. Ushijima takes a deep breath, smelling the strong scent of cinnamon and other spices he cannot begin to name, Oikawa's unique smell. "They can't leave without you, can they Ushiwaka-chan? C'mon, I promise you'll like it."

Ushijima nods. A grin lights up Oikawa's face as he pulls away. Ushijima has to stop himself from turning Oikawa around to face him just so he can see his happy expression again.

Oikawa makes his way to the window, but before he can climb up the ledge, Ushijima grabs his wrist. "We are taking the stairs," he says firmly.

"Aww, I forget you grew up in a palace," Oikawa coos, voice sugar sweet, but allows Ushijima to guide him down the stairs. His valet raises his eyebrows at them, but Ushijima hired his valet because of his sharp eyes and instincts. If he had not known Oikawa was visiting Ushijima in secret, Ushijima would have to reconsider his status on his staff.

Oikawa waves. Ushijima pulls him along faster, fairly sure he does not want Oikawa to speak to anyone in the house at the moment. Luckily, they do not meet anyone else as they slip out the side door of the tower Ushijima had been housed in through the summer.

Ushijima does not ask where they are going. He has long since learned that Oikawa would tell him if he wanted, and to ask just means opening himself to teasing, which is not always bad. Just not the mood he wanted right then.

They leave the Royal District, and soon their surroundings are narrow, dark, and pungent. Ushijima braces himself against it. This is a test, in some capacity, and Ushijima wants to pass it. Oikawa doesn't look back as he weaves his way deftly through the brightly colored stalls of a small market, waving and greeting people as they go. He doesn't stop, however, and so Ushijima stays close to him, nodding his own greeting when people turn their curious gazes on him. He has only been out of the Royal Districts and its surroundings a handful of times, never this far. He is fascinated by the goings-on of this lively community.

Eventually, they reach a short, arched gateway, the gate long since rusted open. "After you, sire," Oikawa says after he opens the gate, giving a mock bow that Ushijima does not acknowledge. With only mild trepidation, he enters what he knows is the sewage system in the heart of the city.

For all of Oikawa's nice clothes and posturing, he is not afraid to get into a mess. Ushijima admires that about him--the fact that he is willing to do whatever necessary to forward his agenda. It is intimidating to most; it is why so many in court are furiously scared of him.

Oikawa grabs a torch from the wall, lighting it quickly and illuminating the low, arched ceiling. Ushijima follows Oikawa's footsteps exactly, his shoulders hunched slightly to guarantee he does not hit his head, refusing to look down to see what kind of filth they were trekking through. After about twenty minutes, Oikawa slows. Ahead of them, the tunnel widens, the ceilings raising to double their size, paths branching every which way.

"The nobility are short-sighted sometimes," Oikawa says mildly, as if he does not have stronger opinions about how stupid royalty can be. "They must know that their escape routes into the city also mean that anyone with a key can just slip in."

Oikawa leads Ushijima toward a path on the left. Ushijima marvels at the fact that Oikawa can keep all of these tunnels straight in his head. He wonders if there is a map, or if Oikawa holds all the knowledge inside of him, offering it to only those he trusts.

Oikawa produces a key from one of his pockets, small and silver with three turquoise gems embedded into it. It fits easily into the ornate silver gate. Ushijima glances around at all the other gates, wondering where they lead, if they are all locked, if Oikawa has the key to all of them, why no one has stopped him or if they've even realized what is happening right under their feet.

Before he can ask the question, the room grows dark as Oikawa walks away from him. Ushijima hurries to catch up.

"Have you heard the legend of the Garden of Gems?" Oikawa asks.

"The fairy story about the Garden created to unify the continent?" Ushijima asks. Oikawa nods. "I suppose, when I was very young."

Oikawa hums. "Do you believe in fairy stories, Ushiwaka-chan?"

Oikawa knows the answer. Ushijima has made it clear that he believes in what is in front of him. Oikawa is the dreamer; Ushijima has his feet firmly planted on the ground. Or so he thought. Looking at Oikawa, he thinks it would be easy to believe in any story Oikawa presents him.

"I am learning that all stories started somewhere," he finally answers. 

Oikawa smiles.

Before Ushijima can say anything else, something glittering catches his eye. He frowns. He hadn't noticed that Oikawa had doused his torch and sunlight filtered into the tunnel, growing brighter the longer they walked.

When Ushijima stepped out of the tunnel, he had to stop completely to take in the scene in front of him.

It was a garden, or so it appeared. Everything was bright and glittering, the colors vibrant. Trees dotted the space, bushes lining the high marble walls. This place looked like no place he had ever been in the city. He mentally tries to retrace their footsteps, but the closest he can get is the outskirts of the Royal District, but someone would know about this, wouldn't they?

"C'mon, Ushiwaka-chan, don't be shy," Oikawa says softly, pushing gently on his back to get him to move forward. "It's just the two of us. You can be as curious as you want."

Ushijima needs no more encouragement. The grass is soft under his feet as he steps off the path. He ignores Oikawa behind him in favor of inspecting the nearest tree, budding with small peaches that looked like...

"Is that amber?" Ushijima asks. 

Oikawa shrugs. “Most likely. Pretty, huh?”

Ushijima nods, continuing around the garden. He sees grapes of the Shiratorizawa amethyst, oranges of Karasuno sunstone. There are gemstone flowers as well, of every color and size. He wonders if the grass has under their feet is made of emeralds, but he does not bend down to examine it. He wishes he had more time to explore this area, to study each plant and see how the gemstones and plant life mix together, if they grow or were created and placed here as they are now.

"I spend a lot of time here," Oikawa says, drawing Ushijima's attention to him. "Do you want to see my favorite place?"

Ushijima nods. Oikawa offers his hand, and Ushijima takes it without hesitation. He loves the feeling of Oikawa's long, slender fingers between his. He is consciously aware of the absence of the ring Oikawa had given back to him. He misses the metal pressing against his skin.

The shifting of the light and sudden temperature drop draws Ushijima's thoughts away from their joined hands back to his surroundings. They have entered a tall, airy courtyard, illuminated by moonlight instead of the sun, which casts everything in a silvery hue. Ushijima glances back the way they came to see that there is still a bit of sunlight streaming through the doorway, but other than that, everything is dark and starry, a perpetual nighttime.

He looks back into the small space they had entered. Not only is it nighttime, but it must also be winter because there are soft, languid snowflakes drifting down on them. The trees are various shades of silver, copper, and gold. Everything here feels cold and beautiful. He can see why this is Oikawa's favorite place.

"I had a book about the stars. It's the only thing I had that was mine before I was orphaned. I read it until the pages were so worn they crumbled to dust."

Oikawa has his face tilted to the ceiling (sky?), his eyes sparkling. Ushijima cannot look away from his unguarded expression. "Oh, look at that. The Lovers are here today."

Oikawa points up to where Ushijima sees the Lovers constellation through the clouds, one of the only constellations he knows. "That story is sad," Ushijima says. He has never understood why a story of star-crossed love and sacrificial death was the one chosen to celebrate romance.

Oikawa pulls Ushijima closer to him, leaning back against his chest, wrapping Ushijima's arms around his waist and resting his arms above Ushijima's. Ushijima rests his head against Oikawa's, feels his cheeks raise with a smile Ushijima can't see. Oikawa is warm, and Ushijima can't help but pull him closer. This feels too right. Ushijima doesn't want to leave it.

"I have done some research," Ushijima says, a little hesitant. Oikawa moves his head so that he can look Ushijima in the eyes. Ushijima has to blink so he does not get lost in the depths of Oikawa's wide brown eyes. "The major who was responsible for colonizing this land had a penchant for women and ale. There are many...illegitimate children, who, if they can prove their lineage, would inherit a title."

Oikawa is silent for a few moments, then turns in Ushijima's arms, breaking their close connection. Ushijima shivers at the cool breeze that makes its way between them. Oikawa cocks his head to the side, his expression dangerously calm. He gives a chilled, chiming laugh. "I'm fairly sure I'm not the son of a warlord, no matter how ruthless I am."

"Like I said," Ushijima answers, his voice steady even as Oikawa's expression shutters further, "I have done research. It would be harder to sway the court here in Seijoh, but at home, they will accept you."

"Are you suggesting that I come back to Shiratorizawa with you?" Oikawa asks, pulling away from Ushijima entirely. His voice is soft and slightly pleasant. It immediately puts Ushijima on edge. He steeples his fingers, and Ushijima know he has said something inexcusable. "Let's not even mention the fact that you're implying that it's better for me to _lie_ , to become someone I am not, and that I don't want to be, just so you can take me home with you on a leash, a lost, stray puppy who would forever be grateful to you for lifting them from poverty."

Ushijima opens his mouth to argue that is not what he had in mind, but Oikawa whirls around, walking away from Ushijima, still talking. Ushijima follows behind him, his face reddening with embarrassment the longer Oikawa tears his idea to shreds.

"Everyone wants to be rich, wants to be from an elite family, right?" he continues, voice hauntingly cheerful. He reaches out, touching a copper tree trunk before spinning around it, as if they are having a joyful meander through the woods. "To never go a night without food or never having to steal. To have people talking about their clothes or their love affairs, or who has the most sex appeal and can bed the most people. The more known your name, the more important you are; the higher your title, the more respected you are. At least, that's what everyone in power wants to believe. They're all fools."

Ushijima swallows hard as Oikawa whirls around to face him, his face finally betraying his anger.

"Do not be so naïve to think that just because I am not royalty, I do not rule this city," Oikawa says, his voice low, his eyes sharp and deadly as a hawk's. "Just because I had to claw my way from an orphaned boy on the street to where I am now does not mean that I do not love this place with all my heart. I know Seijoh more intimately than anyone else, even the governor on his turquoise-encrusted throne. And, while I will admit that living a life of luxury would suit me well, I would not give up my responsibility to this city. Not for money, not for safety, and definitely not for you."

Ushijima is unable to look away from Oikawa. He stands tall between two silver trees, one dripping ruby red apples, the other strings of blue berries that glitter like sapphires. His snow speckled hair makes him seem otherworldly, like the elves in the fairy books Ushijima used to read when very small. He wishes he could paint this scene, embed it in his memory forever.

"Then what are we doing here?" Ushijima finally asks. He feels a twinge in his chest, a tightening of concern he has not felt since he was young, when his mother had informed him of his father's decision to leave the castle for the front lines of the king's expanding empire. "I apologize, I did not mean to offend you so egregiously. I am just...scared," Ushijima confesses. Oikawa's expression falls from anger to surprise. Ushijima himself is surprised by his words as well.

"You frighten me," Ushijima whispers, understanding dawning. Oikawa doesn't move from his place between the trees. Cautiously, Ushijima walks toward him. "You are unpredictable, powerful, strong-willed. You are prideful, even though you have nothing to pride yourself on."

Oikawa's chest puffs out but Ushijima continues speaking quickly before Oikawa's harsh words can lash out at him again. "You broke into my room just to show me you could. You took my family ring to try and humiliate me. I will admit, it worked for awhile."

Ushijima pulls the ring out of his pocket. He had scooped it up on impulse, telling himself it was for safekeeping, but he had known all along where it was going to go. "I have never been more frustrated with a person than I have with you. And that is why I'm scared. Of all these emotions you have unlocked inside of me. Of never seeing you again. I wanted to secure you a place by my side. It was my naivety to think that you would accept it, but I did not know what else to do."

He holds the ring out to Oikawa. Oikawa stares at him, expression still surprised. "Are you proposing to me now?" he asks wryly. Before Ushijima can retract the ring, Oikawa scoops it out of his palm, sliding it back to where it had sat on his middle finger for so long. "You should leave the planning to me, Ushiwaka-chan. I'm much better at it than you."

Before he can do anything, Oikawa leans over and kisses him lightly on the cheek. "You infuriate me too," he whispers. "How can someone so dull, so blunt, so utterly unaware of everything around him have possibly come to mean so much to me?"

Ushijima does not answer the question. Instead, he tilts Oikawa's chin so he can kiss his lips softly. Oikawa's mouth is as fascinating to Ushijima as his hands, and he wishes he had time to explore it further, but they cannot lose sight of the fact that Ushijima is leaving.

"I must go," he says, breaking the kiss. Oikawa shivers, folding his arms. Ushijima pulls him closer, guiding him back out into the normal daylight, sun scorching hot in the sky. He glances back one lingering time at the odd room where they had just shared the strangest love confession.

The rest of their walk back to the Royal District is quiet. Finally, Ushijima can take the silence no longer. He pulls Oikawa to the side of the wall surrounding his summer home. "What is your plan?"

Without batting an eyelash, Oikawa says, "To make you the new governor of Seijoh, of course. It's what you're here for, isn't it? To secure a place in government? Well, why not aim for the highest seat, then? And you have me here to hand it to you. Trust me, I have worked all summer putting everything in place."

Ushijima can't help pulling Oikawa into his arms right there and kissing him, regardless of the servants who might see them. Oikawa raises his eyebrows when they separate. "I take it you agree with my plan, then. It's better than yours, right?"

"Much better," Ushijima agrees. "I will make the necessary preparations at home to move here by the end of harvest."

Oikawa throws his arms around Ushijima's neck. "Then I'll be here waiting for you to come back to me," he murmurs, and Ushijima knows that he will.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos always welcome!
> 
> Socials in the profile!


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